How to treat Depression in Couples Therapy

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LITERATURE REVIEW1

Accurately Defined problem situation target/target behaviour1

The treatment of depression in couple's therapy1

Assessing Couples1

Goals with Couples4

Analysis of evidence-based models and theories related to the target behaviour/ problem situation7

Behavioural Marital Therapy7

Models and Theories: Investigation, Description, Explanation, Prediction and Modification9

Behavioural Approach10

Psychodynamic Approach10

Gestalt Therapy11

Emotional Therapeutic Approach11

Narration Approach11

Bowen Family System Theory12

Evaluation of Models and Theories14

REFERENCES18

LITERATURE REVIEW

Accurately Defined problem situation target/target behaviour

The treatment of depression in couple's therapy

As being a provisional psychologist, I have observed depression to be one of the most common problem/ issue while dealing with couples. This means that among all the couples I have observed in supervised practice programs, at least one partner considered themselves to be under depression and some of them even have been diagnosed to be suffering from clinical depression. This section presents an overview of the evidence-based study which provides supports evidence-based, effective treatments for depression in couples therapy.

Assessing Couples

The process of assessing the couple's interaction during the therapy involves numerous factors. The therapists might start assessing the details observing the behaviour if the couple, like who sits where, who chooses the topic, who starts the conversation, which of the partners talk more, who is looking away, who is interrupting whom, who is trying to change the topic, who is paying for the session, whose schedule is considered to be prior in scheduling the next session, and who decides whether there is a need for another session or not (Rabin, 1996). All these factors show the relationship and level if interaction of the partners with each other. The therapists is able to use all these information in assessing, which includes judging the nature of the problem, the appropriate interventions, the strength and weaknesses of their client, and determination of how the therapists will be proceeding with the therapy. These factors are useful in guiding the whole process of therapy towards an agreed-upon outcome (Filsinger, 1983).

Assessment criteria can substantially vary in terms of formality. At the most informal level, the criteria for assessing the problem can be based on observations of the couples' therapists during the course of treatment. Moving towards somewhat formal interaction, therapists might conduct initial sessions with the couples for gaining insights to their issues. Moving to still more formal interaction, therapists can use assessment techniques applying specific procedures for generating data which will be examined for dysfunctional tell-tale patterns. The most formal assessment is conducted by the therapists for measuring the characteristics of the whole family using tools and techniques other than his or her personal perception.

Indeed, the idea of assessing couples is not entirely a new one, and every therapist has his or her own way of assessing clients. The assessment procedure begins as soon as the client enters the office for the first time and it only ends when the client leaves the office and is no longer seen there. Assessing the couple is an on-going process which starts from the first call and continues throughout the next few seconds immediately after the ...